Main Document

The EJS Electric Field: What is Wrong? Package is a collection of models for electrostatics with errors intentionally built into each model. Users can move charges around and see the force, observe the electric field generated by charge configurations, and observe the motion of test particles in electric fields to try to identify the errors in the simulation. Users can inspect, modify and correct any simulation in the package by right-clicking within the plot and selecting "Open Ejs Model" from the pop-up menu item. The package also includes a brief overview of programming basics needed to correct the models.

The Electric Field: What is Wrong? Package was created using the Easy Java Simulations (Ejs) modeling tool. It is distributed as a ready-to-run (compiled) Java archive. Double clicking the ejs_em_electric_wiw.jar file will launch the package if Java is installed. Navigate within the package and click on a green triangle to run a particular simulation. Ejs is a part of the Open Source Physics Project and is designed to make it easier to access, modify, and generate computer models. Additional Ejs models are available on ComPADRE.

Supplemental Documents (2)

Article (pdf) describing the use of intentionally incorrect simulations (What is Wrong?) in electrostatics to teach physics and some computation. Journal article available from The Physics Teacher, Vol 49, Issue 5, Pages 273-279 http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.3578417.

Source Code Documents (2)

Source Code for the Electric Field: What is Wrong? package. The source code archive contains an XML representation of the Ejs model. Unzip this archive in your Ejs Workspace to compile and run this model using Ejs.

This source code document is available to registered comPADRE users
In order to access this file, please Login to the Physics Source collection.

Source code of the solutions for the Electric Field: What is Wrong? package. The source code is password protected (contact the author). The source code archive contains an XML representation of the Ejs model. Unzip this archive in your Ejs Workspace to compile and run this model using Ejs.